The White House was put on temporary lock down on Tuesday after a state motorcade reportedly carrying Barack Obama’s two daughters was followed into the premises by an unidentified car.

The car entered the security checkpoint at 17th Street and Pennsylvania just before 5pm on Tuesday where it was stopped by Secret Service officers. A male driver was detained while the car searched by officers.

The identity of the driver has not yet been released but he appears to have been driving a Honda Sedan with Maryland licence plates. He is also understood to hold a security pass for the US Treasury building, which sits next to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. The lockdown was lifted an hour later.

"Everything at the White House has been cleared," a Secret Service spokesman told Reuters.